A Little Trip Home for the Boy. . . .

Sprat and I went for a visit to mom and dad's before he heads back to school next week.  It is always so good to go home for a visit, I like to show my kids where I grew up, where I used to work and the schools I attended.  Mom and dad have a favorite little place they like to eat in town  that is right across the street from where I worked when I was in high school.  

Things have changed so much in my little home town.  They have so many cute little shops and quaint little spots to eat now.  I am so glad that things are thriving in my little home town and I know I can always go home to visit.  

Sprat drove us in my old car, the one that he will be taking back to school, he needed some highway practice before we hit the road to Boston.  He drove well, he does have a little issue with speed, especially in my old car.  It has a little more get up and go than his first car he drove.  We had some great conversations and I feel like I got a little closer to my boy on this trip.  He has grown and changed so much since he was a little fella and we would take this trip to visit mom and dad.  I do believe that car rides are the best way to connect to your child no matter what their age.  We had such a good time, visiting with mom, dad, and my brother.  We missed seeing my sister but we did get to have a quick visit with my niece at the drug store.  

Mom gave Sprat several old t-shirts (Sprat calls them retro, I just call them old) and we celebrated his birthday while we were there.  Sprat also came home with an old straw cowboy hat that he loved and begged mom to have.  

I highly recommend a road trip with your teen before they go off to college, it is an eye opener.  

Stay tuned for pictures of the new school and new dorm and weepy mama. . . .   

Look Out Boston... Here Comes Sprat. . .

Road trip!!!!  We got the package and it is a full academic scholarship and we met with the lacrosse coach this week.
We always talk about how we want our kids to grow and go out in the world and do great things, I just never thought my sweet baby would go 13 hours away to start.
We met the coach on Friday for a tour and to see if this was going to be a good fit for Sprat. The school is small but it is only a short distance from Fenway Park.  I like the coach and his philosophy on things.  This coach is very smart. He took us on a tour of the school then showed us how easy it is to get into the city from school.  We took the subway into the city, three short stops, to the Bleacher Bar in the outfield of Fenway Park. We ate lunch and talked at length about how the coach saw Sprat impacting his program.  After lunch we took the subway by some of the local college hangouts for this college as well as Boston College.  The dorm rooms are pretty big for a dorm room and this college has a culinary school, so many times the culinary students are cooking in the school cafeteria.  No cars on campus, the blackberry stays at home.  All of his Lax gear is provided except for his stick and cleats. Since this is their inaugural Lax program these boys get to help design their uniforms. 
Sprat ' s only concern was the fact that we are 13+ hours away.  On a positive note they do live stream the games, so I will not miss them.  The coach also pointed out Sprat would have 19 new brothers, some coming much farther away than Sprat.
I have been praying about all of this and praying that God's hand will be in this decision that he makes.  It is a very exciting time to see your kid be excited about his future.

I am not sure I am ready for all of this.  A whole lot of changes working in our family right now.

Lax practice fields 

Campus

College Visits. . .

Sprat is a sophomore in high school and between football, school and the orthodontist I am afraid we will have little room for college tours next year.  We have our first college tour tomorrow, it is a small private Christian school.  We are starting with a small school so that we will have perspective when we visit a larger campus this summer.  Sprat is still not sure what he wants to major in so we will be visiting many different places.  The one place he is sure he does not want to go is Appalachian State, he hates cold weather.   The way things are going so far, it is a plus that we at least know one place he positively does not want to go.
Yes, we are starting early but, I much prefer to start early than to be late to the party.   I hope visiting a college campus will get him excited about the possibility of going off to college and being on his own.  I will share some pictures of our visit over the weekend so check back.  I will also post a follow up about what we learned on this visit.
This particular school holds some family ties;  my Dad went to this college for a brief time before going on to NC State, one of my uncles played football and graduated from this college, and one of my aunts taught at this college.
By the time all of this is said and done Big T will know everything he needs to know, and then some, about going to college.    Stay tuned. . .